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DL man gets jail, fine for assault

A Detroit Lakes man was sentenced recently in Becker County District Court on a felony domestic assault charge.

David Carl Berlin, 49, of 415 Oak St., Detroit Lakes, was ordered to serve 21 months in prison, stayed on conditions including completion of a 90-day jail sentence and community service in lieu of $1,160 in court fines and fees.

Two additional felony charges of domestic assault and domestic assault by strangulation were dismissed at sentencing.

Berlin was accused of assaulting his female companion while they were staying at the 59'er Motel in Detroit Lakes on the evening of Oct. 1.

According to court records, Berlin had allegedly been drinking that evening, and when the woman attempted to leave their room, he prevented her from exiting and threw her down on the bed, then onto the floor.

He then allegedly sat down on her back and grabbed her around the throat with both hands, hard enough so that she wasn't able to breathe.

Berlin reportedly kept the woman with him for the rest of the night, but when he went into the bathroom for a shower the next morning, she grabbed her things and left.

He has had prior convictions for domestic assault in 2003 and fifth degree assault in 2010.